Gateway Pet Guardians Blog

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How to Build a Community Cat House

As we work with community, we have seen an increase in the stray and homeless cat population in the Metro East. After speaking with residents, we learned that the cats are often dumped, homeless and hungry. Individuals in the community take it upon themselves to care for the hungry cats and kittens. But in some situations, the 1-2 community cats they care for quickly turn into 20-30 cats because of how quickly and frequently cats reproduce.

The Gateway Pet Guardians Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program specifically targets stray and feral cats—cats that otherwise could not be adopted out into a family home. In TNR, cats are humanely trapped and taken to a veterinarian to be spayed/neutered and vaccinated. After recovery, the cats are returned to their home—their colony—outdoors. The community continues to care for the cats.

In addition to TNR services, we help resident caretakers by providing community cat shelters. These shelters help keep the cats safe from the elements. We use a design that is affordable, easily reproduced in quantity with commonly available materials and simple tools. The video below will walk you through the process of creating your own community cat shelter.